Assessment of Ingested Radionuclide Dose from Groundwater Sources in Rumuekpe, Rivers State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Consumption, Recommended, Inhabitants, Homogeneity, ConcentrationAbstract
A study to evaluate the annual effective dose (AED) of radionuclides due to consumption of well water samples from some randomly selected communities in Rumuekpe, Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State, Niger Delta, Nigeria, was carried out. The aim of the study is to determine the annual effective dose in infants, children and adult population of the study area who consume the well water. Twenty-eight well water samples were collected and acidified to allow for homogeneity as well as to minimize the effect of microbial/bacterial activities. Activity concentration (AC) of radionuclides was determined with the aid of NaI gamma-ray spectrometer. Mean AC of 40K, 232Th and 238U are 79.51, 2.73 and 9.67 Bql-1 respectively. Mean TAED of all radionuclides in infants (0-1 and 1-2)yr, children (2-7 and 7-12)yr and adults (12-17 and ˃17)yr are (3.703 and 1.085), (1.169 and 0.861), and (1.368 and 1.093) mSvy-1 respectively. Mean activity concentration of 40K and 232Th are above recommended safe limit of 10.0 and 0.10 Bql-1 respectively while that of 238U was lower than the 10.0 Bql-1 recommended safe limit. Mean TAED in infants, children and adults are higher than the recommended safe limit of 0.26, 0.20 and 0.10 mSvy-1 respectively. This indicates that the well water supplies are harmful for human consumption. Proper water treatment or provision of good water supplies is highly recommended for the inhabitants of the study area.
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